There are about 600 muscles in our body, and having an exercise for each muscle Hip Thrusts is just not possible. For this reason, muscles in our body are divided into various groups and exercises have been designed to target specific muscle groups.
These muscle groups are core muscles, quadriceps (or quads), glutes, hamstrings, calf muscles, chest, shoulders, and back.
Glutes are one of the muscle groups that people like to exercise. They are the bulkiest muscles of the body and are significantly involved in the body image aesthetic, especially for women. Most women desire a big and round butt either to attract men or for their body image.
What Are Hip Thrusts?
Thrust is a term often used in aerodynamics and means to “push or propel”. Hip thrusts are hip workouts when performed; it looks like you are propelling your core, pelvis, and upper legs upwards.
How to Do Hip Thrust?
A classic hip thrust (also called the bench hip thrust) is performed as follows:
1. Take a bench. Sit down with your shoulders supported by the bench.
2. Bend your knees so that your feet are planted on the ground.
3. Place your arms on the bench.
4. Your arms should be straight and just for support. Do not use them to lift your body.
5. The distance between your hips and feet should be such that there is a 90 degrees angle at your knees.
6. Tighten your core, squeeze your glutes and lift your butt. Hold this position for one second.
7. Lower your butt till your butt comes in contact with the ground. Repeat for more reps.
You May Also Read: How to Use the Hip Thrust Machine
Is Doing Hip Thrusts Good or Bad for You?
Exercise is never bad for you unless you have a medical condition that requires you to abstain from exercise. Following is a list of what hip thrust has to offer:
1. Improves Postures and Gait
A good posture is important in making you confident and attractive. A good posture requires a balance between glute strength and quad strength. Squats will give you quads strength and hip thrusts provide glute strength. Glutes are also involved in walking so hip thrusts help with gait too.
2. Good for Osteoporosis
Decreased bone density or osteoporosis is a very common issue in old women. It decreases bone strength and increases the chances of fracture. Strength training exercises like thrust coupled with proper nutrition is a perfect way to prevent osteoporosis.
3. Increases Athletic Performance:
To achieve peak performance in running and jumping, all of your leg muscles should be strong. Squats and Romanian deadlifts strengthen quads and hamstrings. But what about the glutes? As an athlete, you don’t want them to be weak. Hip thrusts improve hip mobility and glute strength.
4. Improve Performance in Bed
Having a good sex life is a dream of almost everyone in the world. This is very much true for males. Males have a more active role in sex than females and carry the responsibility of satisfying their partners. Sex is a game of both mental and physical strength. Hip thrusts might not help with mental strength but they do give you physical strength. If you observe closely, you will notice that movement during hip thrust is very similar to the movements during sex in various positions. So, if you do hip thrusts, you will have the physical strength and endurance required to last longer with your partner.
So, hip thrusts sure are good for a range of reasons. But if you are specific about your muscle gains and only want to grow your booty without making your thighs bigger, hip thrusts might not be a good option. Instead, you can choose glute bridges.
Variations of Hip Thrust
If you have spent a few years doing gym, you will know that every exercise has many variations. Hip thrusts are no different. Although there are many variations of it, a few common ones are discussed below;
1. Weighted Hip Thrusts
After you have mastered the hip thrust using just your body weight, you may want to add more weights and take it to the next level. Weighted hip thrusts can be performed using a barbell (barbell hip thrust), dumbbells (dumbbell hip thrust), or simply weight plates. Everything is the same as a simple hip thrust except this time; you will have a barbell or dumbbell in your lap.
2. Single Leg Hip Thrust
This exercise is to target muscles of one leg at a time. The procedure is the same as in simple hip thrust. You just have to keep one leg raised from the ground. After one set, you will raise the other leg instead and continue.
3. Foot Elevated Hip Thrust
Your starting position will be the same as for glute bridges. Elevate your feet on a bench, bend your knees and slide a little away from or towards the bench to make the 90 degrees angle at the knees. Now raise and lower your hips.
Other Variations of Hip Thrust Include:
1. Stability ball hip thrusts
2. Chaos hip thrusts
3. Isometric hip thrusts
4. Frog pump hip thrust
Do Hip Thrusts Make Your Thighs Bigger?
The hip thrust is an exercise to target glutes but leg muscles are also elevated during this exercise. Which muscles are activated and to what extent they are activated depends upon your foot positioning.
If your feet are away from your butt during the exercise, hamstrings will be involved. If the feet are close to the butt, quads will be activated.
Even if you place your feet at an optimal distance from the butt, there will be some activation of leg muscles and your thighs will grow.
Does Hip Thrust Improve Squat?
Squats are the old-school leg exercise that targets the quads and glutes. Since hip thrust is also an exercise for glutes, these two become brother arms for your leg day. While the squat is a bit more focused on quads and moderately activates glutes, hip thrust primarily activates glutes and fulfills the glute activation lacking in squats.
Together, these two make good options for your leg day workouts.
